The Cat's Meow
by Shia R. N
Summary: What happens when Luffy and crew go to a new town to get supplies before heading for the grandline? Total Chaos. New friends new enemies and a new girl. A girl that Zolo thinks is the Cat's Meow. Zolo&OC, Sanji&OC [Discontinued]
1. Chapter 1

Hello! Oh, I'm so excited! A One Piece story! Anyway, I know baerly anyone reads these so I won't waste anymore space. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own One Piece or it's charaters, Eiichiro Oda does. Hana is my own character though.

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"You know we should go into port," a green haired boy said, "We can't go to the Grand Line with out getting supplies first"  
"Zolo's right Luffy," A blonde haired boy agreed, "There's hardly anything in my kitchen." Luffy laughed from under his straw hat.  
"Alright then, we go into port! Where is the closest place Nami?" He asked looking over at his red head navigator.  
"If you need food for Sanji's kitchen then we should probably go to..." Nami paused to consult her map, "Ridgembol. It's a small village, but it's more likely to have a ton of food. Most of the town is shops, and it's only an hour away from our given position"  
"Set sail for Ridgembol!" Luffy laughed again. "Aye aye Cap'n!" Nami yelled and left to man the tiller, "Come on Usopp." She called back to a curly black haired boy with a yellow bandanna. He rushed after her. Zolo leaned back against the ships railing.  
"Looks like it's gonna be awhile..." He said closing his eyes.  
"Only an hour," Sanji said. Luffy smiled, he knew that Zolo was asleep by now. Zolo hated to wait for anything. "Chopper how are you feelin'?" Sanji asked a small blue nosed reindeer. Chopper looked up from under the rim of his red hat.  
"Like a rock," He said, "A whole nother hour? We've been sailing for two weeks without having docked, and last time Luffy forgot to get any food!" Luffy looked angry for a second and then settled down.  
"Well, it's just an hour. Don't you like being a pirate Chopper?" He asked.  
"I-I..." He started, "I LOVE IT!" He finally shouted. Luffy and Sanji bothbegan to laugh, and before they knew it Ridgembol was in sight, and then they were docked there. "Hey, Zolo, wake up," Luffy said tapping Zolo on the shoulder, "We're here! Don't you wanna see the town?" Zolo didn't stir.  
"Leave him, Luffy," Nami said, "He'll catch up." Luffy poked Zolo again.  
"We should have someone watching the ship anyway," Usopp said, "The Black Cat had ship guards." He said thinking of the Meowban Brothers. Luffy shrugged.  
"Fine. Bye Zolo!" He said and jumped off the ship. Sanji jumped off behind him and Nami and Usopp used a rope ladder. Luffy stretched his arms to roll it back up and put it back on the ship. They walked into town to get supplies. Zolo woke up some time later.  
"Unn.." He said as he got up. He wondered briefly how long he had been sleepingand then walked over to the side of the ship. He figured that everyone else had already left into town. He was about to jump off when he saw a mud blonde haired girl standing in the ocean. The waves were up to her neck. She looked like she was fighting the current. He saw her jump backwards and then run at the waves again. For a moment it looked like the current would over power her, but she straightened up again and repeated her process. Zolo smiled. It almost looked like she was training, not just playing a game. He watched three boys run across the sand. They yelled something at the girl, but he couldn't hear it over the waves. It made her whirl around though, so he guessed it hadn't been good. She was charging at them now, much faster than against the current. He had to strain to watch her, almost like watching scene by scenes, except some one had pulled out a few in between each slide. He was interested to see what she would do next, but the wind blew something into his eyes and he shut them while he tried to get it out. By the time he opened them again the boys were laying face down in the sand and the girl, who he now noticed was wearing a red sash, was walking away with her things, which she picked up off a nearby rock. Four swords, and a red bandanna, which she had put on her head. He jumped of the ship after grabbing his swords. The girl saw him, then his swords and broke out into a run. Zolo began to ran after her. Who is this girl? What did she do to those boys? Four swords? That's nuts! These thoughts raced through his head as he ran, but she was fast and he wasn't making much ground.  
Luffy grabbed a bushel of apples out of a cart and flipped the man a piece of silver. A girl in a red bandanna ran past him, huffing and puffing. Zolo wasn't far behind, but he was breathing even harder. "Hi Zolo. Bye Zolo." He said as Zolo ran past him. Nami looked concerned.  
"He was running pretty fast, do you think he was chasing that girl?" She asked. Luffy nodded.  
"You're right Nami, Zolo wouldn't run for no reason," He handed the supplies they had been looking at to Sanji. "Lets follow him." Luffy ran off.  
"I didn't get a good look at her!" Sanji exclaimed handing the supplies to Nami and running after Luffy. Nami's eyes got big.  
"Maybe she stole our treasure!" She worried, and handed the supplies to Chopper running like it was her life and not treasure that depended on catching up. Chopper looked sad.  
"Wait for mmmeeeeee!" He cried and threw the supplies to Usopp, running after the others. Usopp began to follow when a shop keeper put a hand on his shoulder. "You haven't paid for all that yet!" The man snapped and Usopp's eyes dropped half distance.  
The girl rounded a corner and came to a stop in an alley. She sighed in relief, she had lost him. She peeked back around the corner just in case.  
"So, what did you do on that beach back there?" A voice asked from behind her. She whirled around to see Zolo. She took a step back and ran into Luffy. She thought he looked familiar, but couldn't put her finger on it. She recognized Zolo though. The infamous pirate hunter. Her eyes narrowed into slits.  
"What do you want Pirate Hunter?" She hissed, "How did you find me?" She pulled out two of her swords. She glanced back at Luffy. Why did he look so familiar? "Now you got a lackey... I see." She jumped up onto a building, "If you wanna take me in, you'll need a whole army not just a couple of lame lackeys!" Sanji settled back against the wall of the alley.  
"You don't understand!" Zolo yelled up to her, "I'm a pirate now, not a pirate hunter"  
"A likely story, but can you prove it?" she scowled. Zolo began to pull out a sword. Sanji stepped in front of him. "Hana he's not a pirate hunter." He said flatly. Hana lowered her swords slowly, then sheathed them. "He's a member of the Straw Hat Pirates." She hopped down of the building.  
"The Straw Hat Pirates, huh?" She saw Luffy's hat, "Then you're Luffy," she said, "I thought you looked familiar." She turned to Zolo, "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, I tend to overreact." She at last turned her attention to Sanji, "I haven't seen you since the Baratie incident, so you're a pirate huh?" Sanji nodded. "Thank you, good bye," She finished and sped off to avoid Zolo's questions. Zolo sighed and instead turned to Sanji.  
"What no flirting Sanji?" He asked, half-joking. Sanji smiled.  
"Some girls you just stay out of their way. Zolo," His face turned serious, "I suggest you do the same." At that moment the others caught up, so they all headed back to their ship. Sanji immediately went to make dinner while the rest of the crew discussed the days events.  
"I can't believe you left me to pay for all that," Usopp complained. The others ignored him.  
"Who is that girl? Dang it!" Zolo said angrily, no one had an answer for him. "She's cool!" Luffy said, "Where did you meet her Sanji"  
"I met her on the Baratie," He answered, "She needed a good meal"  
"Do you think she can use all four of those swords?" Luffy asked.  
"I don't know," Zolo said, "I've thinking about it and it almost seems impossible. Unless she can balance one on her foot." Chopper looked up from the new medicine he was working on.  
"Maybe she just holds two in each hand," He suggested. Zolo seemed to consider this.  
"That's a very good possibility Chopper," He said, and patted the reindeer's hat. At the moment Sanji came back in carrying two trays of food. Luffy's eyes got big.  
"Steak!" He yelled and began to eat extremely fast. When he finished he noticed an extra plate, "Who's that for Sanji?" Zolo answered for him.  
"He made it for our guest," Zolo said and two swords caught the moonlight. He pulled out his swords just in time to block Hana's attack. Zolo looked at the red hilted swords she was holding, then at the two black ones at her hip. Did she ever use them? He wondered this a moment to long as she moved back to attack again. He barley managed to block her and then moved his swords into a scissors position. She jumped up to avoid it and landed on top of the swords. She smirked. He returned it and then pulled his swords apart, causing her to lose her footing. She fell to the ground, landing on her feet, but in a squatting position. For a moment she stayed there and Zolo thought she was giving up, but then she flipped backward, landing lightly on the balls of her feet. 'She's like a cat,' Zolo thought to himself. "This looks bad!" Usopp trembled, "Shouldn't we be helping Zolo! She seems tough!" He looked back at the others who were now sitting down.  
"Popcorn is perfect for times like this," Sanji said putting a bowl in between them.  
"Popcorn!" Luffy yelled and Nami took a handful. Chopper raced over.  
"Give me some!" He said. Usopp looked flabbergasted.  
"How can you be eating popcorn!" He asked shrilly, "Our friend is in a fight to the death!" Luffy looked over, confused.  
"Whadda ya mean?" Luffy asked, "Don't you trust Zolo's abilities?" Usopp said that he did. "Good." Luffy's gaze went back to the battle. Hana was up in the crows nest before she dived down, Zolo wasn't sure what to do. She had put her swords to her sides and had closed her eyes. It didn't look like she could stop herself, or that she had any intention of stopping herself. Zolo lowered his own swords, as if he was the one diving. She was two feet above him now, but she still hadn't moved out of her dive. Zolo put his hands out, his swords grasped between his fingers, his palms facing up. He caught her before she could hit the ground. She lay limp in his arms, her eyes still closed. He couldn't feel her breathing. She began to breathe normally and her eyes snapped open as she smirked. She pulled a sword up to his throat. He thought about dropping her, but didn't. Instead he lightly tipped her onto her feet. He sheathed his swords. Hana smiled.  
"That was fun Zolo," Hana said. Zolo seemed disapointed that he had put his swords away, "Don't worry Zolo, that wasn't a real fight, so it can't be a real loss." Zolo's face relaxed a bit. Hana walked over to the plate Sanji had prepared for her. She leaned back against the mast as she ate. She closed her eyes as she enjoyed the juicy steak.  
"Wow, you're tough," Chopper said and Hana's eyes snapped back open. She searched out Chopper and began to drool. She sat down her empty plate. "Not again!" Chopper yelled and she began to chase him around the ship.  
"Just one bite!" She said evilly, "One bite!" She got close enough to grab one of his horns. Chopper looked back at her angrily. The small reindeer immediately changed into a large monster. Hana was so surprized that she allowed herself to be thrown back against a wall.  
"Devil fruit?" She asked, astounded, "A reindeer ate devil fruit?" Chopper nodded as he returned to his normal form.  
"I ate the Human-Human fruit," He said. Hana smiled, then laughed. "What's so funny!" Chopper yelled.  
"I'm not laughing at you," She said through a fit of laughter, "You see," She began to untie her bandanna, then her sash, two black cat ears and a tail were revealed. "I ate the Creature-Creature fruit." Everyone's eyes got wide and their mouths dropped.  
"Cool!" Luffy said at last. Zolo regained his normal composure.  
"'Creature-Creature'?" He said, "Why not just 'meow-meow' fruit or something"  
"The creature-creature fruit allows me to use the abilities of other creatures, I use a cats most, so I always have cat ears and a cat tail." She looked like she was concentrating, and then two full black wings sprouted from her back, "Raven." The wings disappeared and her eyes turned gold, "Tiger." She turned back to normal, "Pretty much anything." She sighed, "Well, anything except fish, can't do fish. At least, not very well, I can breathe underwater but I still can't swim so, I'd eventually die on the sea floor. Sad huh?" Luffy nodded that he understood the feeling. "Anyway," She said looking cheerful again, "I had better get going, I have to get some sleep tonight!" The crew said good bye and Hana hopped off the ship. Once she left they began to talk.  
"We should get her to join our crew," Luffy said. Usopp nodded.  
"She's good with those swords of hers, and that power might come in handy sooner or later." He said, Nami chimed in.  
"I agree," She nodded, "She would be a great asset to he team"  
"I think it would be fun," Zolo said. There was something about her, that made him want her to stay with them. He couldn't understand it. Sanji smiled.  
"You like her Zolo," he said. Zolo looked irritated. He didn't like her. Did he?  
"I'm surprized you left her alone," Zolo said. Sanji's smile faded.  
"I told you, you just don't mess with some girls," He said. It was silent for a moment.  
"Something was strange about her," Chopper said finally.  
"Not any weirder than anyone else on this crew," Zolo sighed.  
"No, that's not with I mean," Chopper said seriously, "When she grabbed my horn, she had a strange temperature"  
"Maybe her temperature is like a cats," Sanji offered, "That would confuse you"  
"Maybe," Chopper said, but he didn't look like he believed it. Luffy decided to change the subject.  
"Lets talk about it tomorrow," He said, "Then we can ask her to join our crew!" The rest agreed and then went off to bed. What they didn't realize, was that Hana was still listening as she hid in the shadows. A single tear rolled down her cheek. She wished she could go with them. Without a sound she slipped off into the night. She sneaked through the city streets, quieter than a grave, until she finally came to a small house on the outskirts. She opened the door and ran inside, hoping to see an empty house. She wouldn't be so lucky. Over in the fire place a bonfire blazed merrily, an armchair facing it. She knew all to well who was sitting there.  
"Where have you been Hana?" The voice was cool and even, "Why would you worry me that way? It's not very kind." She heard the voice sigh, "What am I going to do with you? You've been a very bad kitty, defying you're master like this. Tell me, how should I punish such a bad little kitty?" Hana didn't say anything, and the chair turned around.  
"I'm sorry, Nakatsu," Hana said, her head bowed.  
"You're right you're sorry," Nakatsu said, he patted her head, and rubbed her cat ears as she sat on the floor near him. "I love only you, and yet, you chose to spend your time away from me." His cold eyes hardened, "Who were you with?" She thought of Zolo, and the others, her heart dropped when she thought of what Nakatsu would do to them.  
"You know me," She said, "I hate people, and people hate me, you're so untrusting." She put on her best mischievous smile, the one that he loved.  
"Yes, my heartless little alley cat, always ready for a fight, but never for love." He eyes softened back to their normal iced over look. Again Zolo's face passed through her mind. Don't come near me again, she thought desperately, please. Nakatsu ran his hand through her hair again, and pulled out some sand. "It would seem you went to the beach today," He said, sprinkling it on the floor. "What were you doing there"  
"I was training," She answered him, "I can't allow myself to get rusty." Nakatsu smiled. Hana tried to return it, but it ended up half hearted. "I'm sorry," she said, "I must be a little tired"  
"You're tired?" He said, surprized, "I thought you were nocturnal, my love." She smiled at the joke, he waved his hand towards the hallway, "You can go to bed," He turned his chair back around to face the fireplace, "I'll be going to my own shortly"  
"Yes, Nakatsu," She said, and bowed slightly. She knew he would have rathered, 'Good night, my love,' but she was too tired to care that much. She walked down the hall to the second door on the right, then went in and collapsed on her bed. She began to cough violently. She grabbed a handkerchief off her bedside table just in time to catch some blood. After a moment she calmed down and fell onto her back. She was so tired, but she couldn't sleep as thoughts of the Straw Hat crew raced through her head, bouncing off the walls of her skull, and playing tag. How she wished she could go with them. She eventually fell into a restless sleep.

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And that's the end of chapter one! I hope you liked it! 


	2. Chapter 2

Yay! Chapter two! On with the show!

Sadly, I don't own One Piece, or it's characters, Eiichiro Oda does. I did make Hana though.

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The next morning, Zolo woke up with the dawn. He grabbed his swords and quietly made his way away from the others cots, then once he was out, had to tiptoe past Nami's room,  
once on deck he moved around normally. He grabbed one of his dumbbells and began to use it as a sword, swinging it as easily as he would a feather. After awhile he grabbed a bigger one and began to repeat the process. Each time he got a bigger dumbbell until he got to one he could barely swing around. Then he held it up for as long as he could before he could feel it over straining him and he sat it back down. He sighed and walked over to the railing, looking out at the beach, so empty and peaceful this early in the morning. He looked out toward the ocean. Hana was out there again, practicing against the waves.  
Zolo watched for awhile, before a big wave came and knocked her over, she was beginning to be pulled out to sea. He yelled, "Dang it!" and jumped off the ship to save her. He grabbed her struggling body and swam fighting the out going current back to shore. He laid her on her back in the sand and she coughed up some sea water, "Moron, if you ate devil fruit, you should stay away from the ocean! At least Luffy has the sense to stay on the ship!" She turned away and continued to cough, this time a bit of blood came up with the sea water. She moved the sand to cover it. She turned back to Zolo smiling.  
"Thank you for saving me," She said, she didn't mentioned that she could have used her power to make gills, and she could have walked along the sea floor to get back to shore. She looked up at the sun, she didn't have much time before Nakatsu woke up. "I really have to get going." She said and started to stand up, but Zolo held onto her wrist.  
"Why are you always in such a hurry?" He asked. She didn't answer, but gave him a worried look. He let go of her wrist.  
"Thank you," She said, "Please, just stay away, you don't know what you're getting yourself into." She whirled around and began to run. Zolo watched her until she rounded a corner and disappeared from sight. Sanji leaned over the ships railing.  
"Zolo," He yelled over the waves, "come get some breakfast." Zolo nodded and made his way back onto the Merry Go. Sanji had already set out ham and eggs and bacon,  
Luffy was already done and trying to get some of Usopp, Chopper, Nami and Sanji were eating slowly. Zolo sat down at the table and filled a plate. He stayed silent for a long time.  
"There is something wrong with that girl," Zolo said, "She's always in hurry.  
Hana, I mean, I saw her this morning. Kid nearly drowned." Sanji didn't meet anyone's eyes. "I wonder what she's hiding. She can't be more than sixteen, and yet she's a good fighter and almost like she expected to see a bounty hunter. She was ready to fight like I would turn her in. I wonder what she did." Sanji looked up, his face serious.  
"It's not my way to talk about others pasts," He said, "but maybe you should know." Luffy leaned in closer, "When I meet Hana on the Baratie, she was twelve years old, and completely alone. She was starving and didn't have any money to pay. I remember she ran right into the kitchen and snagged something, right off of a customers plate, and then ran out, Patty chasing behind her. She managed to give Patty the slip, but I found her and gave her a meal." He paused to let this sink in.  
"She was only twelve?" Chopper asked, "Twelve years old and alone on the high seas"  
"That close to the Grand Line?" Usopp uttered, amazed.  
"That's right," Sanji said, "As she ate, she thanked me and I asked her what she was doing out there, and how she had got out there. She pointed to a small dinghy and said she was running away." Sanji paused again and Luffy scratched his head. He continued, "I asked her what she was running from and she said 'Nakatsu'. I kept asking who Nakatsu was, but all she would say was that if Nakatsu caught her, she was in big trouble." He shook his head, "I had thought that Nakatsu was a relative of hers, and that she meant she would be punished for running away. I convinced her that it would be better if she just went back, much better than if he caught her." Sanji leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling.  
"It sounds like good advise," Nami said, "Did she go"  
"Yep," He said, looking around the table, "She went back. Sure, the advise seemed good at time, until I found something else." "What?" Zolo asked. Sanji stood up.  
"I still have them," He said, "I'll go get them." A walked out of the room and into the room with their cots. He came back a moment later, "These." He put two wanted posters down on the table, the one on top said 'Hana Mieji, 50,000,000 berries, wanted for theft, piracy, and the assault of a naval officer'. Over these words was a picture of a mud-blonde haired girl that did seem to be about twelve. The girl was smiling and Zolo could tell that this was Hana. "I thought that was strange," Sanji said, "And then I found this," I lifted up Hana's wanted poster to show the one under it. The picture was of a boy about thirteen years old with light brown hair and icy blue eyes, he wasn't smiling at all. They looked down at the words. "'Nakatsu Kirsh, 100,000,000 berries,  
wanted for theft, piracy, treason, and murder.'" Sanji read out loud. "Apparently, I sent her back to a fate much worse than getting lost, and possibly starving out at sea." It was clear to the others that Sanji was done.  
"Can you imagine?" Zolo muttered, "To be twelve years old with fifty million berries on your head"  
"What about this Nakatsu person?" Usopp asked. Sanji shrugged.  
"Probably beat he crap out of her," He said, "Poor kid"  
Hana closed the door behind her as she entered her house, Nakatsu must of still been asleep. She sighed in relief. She walked back to her room, she would act like she had overslept and never left the house. She looked around her room as she came in. No surprises, thank goodness. The door slammed behind her. She whirled around to see Nakatsu standing there, one hand still on the wood of the door.  
"Where have you been?" he asked, his voice as cold as his eyes.  
"I- I went on a little walk," She said, "Just around the area, nowhere near town"  
Nakatsu took a step toward her and raised a fist, looking at it. "It saddens me to think you would do something like that." He took another step forward, and she stumbled backwards. "Now you're running away from me? How sad." He raised his hand, and back handed her cheek. She fell backward, putting a hand up over her stinging cheek. She glanced back behind her at the window. She had left it open that morning. Good. She looked Nakatsu in the eye and then flipped backward out of the window. "I'm sorry Nakatsu," She said and began to run towards the town.  
Zolo wandered aimlessly through the town. How could he have not figured it out sooner? He gave the shops sideways glances as he meandered by. Nothing really caught his eye. Even a shop full of katana swords seemed dull to him. He stopped for awhile,  
leaning back against a building and watching people walk by. It amazed him now how simple life was for some. For a moment he wished he had been like that, but memories of Kuina and all the people who helped him to get to where he was flashed through his mind. He saw something run past him. He snapped back to reality. Only one person could run that fast. Only one person could have a spotted cheetah tail. He ran after Breanna until he couldn't run anymore. She stopped running soon after on the beach. He saw her walk over to the cliffs, and then disappear between the rocks. He saw Luffy walking along the beach. Luffy looked over at the rock and saw Breanna hiding there. He began to go over to her. Zolo decided to let Luffy talk to her. Luffy walked over to see Breanna coughing like mad. Blood covered the immediate rocks and sand around her. Try as she might, she couldn't hide them from Luffy's gaze. He looked down at her and then nealed down himself.  
"Are you okay?" he asked, "Why is there so much blood?" Hana tried to stop it, but another cough came out. She looked up at Luffy as the blood dribbled down her chin.  
"I'm fine," She said, whipping the blood away "Leave me alone, it doesn't concern you"  
"Yes it does concern me!" Luffy told her, "You're my friend." This information hit her like a bullet. She sat there stunned. She felt herself compelled to tell him everything.  
"I have a rare illness," She answered, "If I'm too active, I begin to cough uncontrollably. If I have over done my limits way to much, blood comes up. Kinda makes it hard to use my powers." Luffy looked like he understood.  
"What were you doing?" He asked, "To make you cough up so much blood"  
Hana turned her head, and he saw the redness of her cheek, which was quickly turning into a bruise. "I was running," She said, she showed him the cheetah tail before returning it to its normal black coloring. Luffy refrained from asking about her cheek.  
"Chopper is a good doctor you know," He told her, "He might even have a cure for your illness." Hana smiled, but shook her head.  
"I doubt it, besides, even if I was completely healthy, I can't leave this place," She looked down at the blood stained sand. "Because of Nakatsu?" Luffy asked.Hana looked up, wide eyed.  
"How do you know about that?" She asked, "How could you possibly know"  
Luffy told her about the wanted posters Sanji had found. When he finished the silence was long and awkward. Finally Hana spoke again, "I... I never killed anyone..." She said stiffly, looking back at the ground. Luffy nodded. She looked up with tears in her eyes, "Luffy... Help...?" she said. Luffy nodded again his eyes shadowed by his hat. He helped her up. She smiled through her tears. They walked back to the Merry Go. Zolo stood up as they boarded. He saw Hana's cheek as they walked over.  
"What happened?" He asked. Luffy walked past him to get the others.  
"Grab your swords," He said after he was past. Zolo didn't ask why, but did as he was told. Hana leaned back against the ships bulwark and Zolo looked like he might ask her something, but he stopped and instead rubbed her cheek until she couldn't feel it anymore. She wanted to thank him, but she found she couldn't talk. Luffy came out with Sanji, Usopp, Chopper and Nami following behind. Luffy jumped off the ship with out a world. Hana jumped off, but didn't lead them to her house. 'What am I doing?' She asked herself, 'I'm sending these fools to their deaths!' Zolo could see her hesitate. He walked over and rubbed her shoulder reassuringly.  
"Don't worry," He whispered in her ear, "We've done the impossible before." For a moment the real world and her fears all disappeared. It felt good to not have to worry about anything. The real world snapped back into place as he took his hands off and she felt her worries returning. She blocked them out of her mind, and began to lead them to her house. She knew Nakatsu was waiting.  
Nakatsu sat on the porch looking up at the sky, "I wonder what my love is planning?" He thought aloud. 'If you love her, stop doing this to her,' a voice told him inside, his other personality. "I will do as I please," He answered it, "In the eyes of this world, you no longer exsist." The other Nakatsu sighed, 'You ruined everything I worked for!' Nakatsu laughed, "Worked? You? You're pathetic." 'She loved me,' it answered,  
hitting Nakatsu where it hurt, 'She hates you, she won't say it, but she does. You hurt her.' Nakatsu concentrated for a moment, and the voice died away. He sighed, maybe it would stay quiet for good now. "Hey," A voice interrupted his thinking, "You Nakatsu?" He looked up and smirked.  
"Who want's to know?" He asked, He looked at the group. Zolo had his bandanna on and all of his swords at the ready. Usopp had his sling shot out and was tossing some of his special 'stars' up in the air, then catching them again. Nami pulled out her pole and stood in a good position to attack. Sanji stood there with a smug look on his face, but he was ready to use his leg technique at any time. Luffy stood in front of them all with his arms at his sides, his eyes shaded by his hat. Nakatsu found Hana standing behind Zolo. All four of her swords were out, she had one in each hand, one in her mouth and the last one she held with her cat tail. She was trembling, but she was ready. Nakatsu laughed. "I see! This is rather interesting." "It's okay," Zolo whispered to Hana. She stopped trembling and nodded.  
Nakatsu's eyes flashed dangerously.  
"I guess I'll just have to kill you!" He snapped. Hana's eyes got wide. Her legs began to shake and she discovered she couldn't move. Luffy smirked right back at him.  
"We're not gonna die!" He said and charged in. Nakatsu jumped up to avoid Luffy's punch Sanji took advantage of this and kicked him in the stomach. Nakatsu stood his ground, not even taking a step backwards from the impact. It was Usopps turn.  
"Shooting stars!" He said and fired three pellets at Nakatsu. The pellets were easily dodged. Nakatsu ran over and punched Nami in the arm, causing her to stumble backwards. Zolo stormed over with his three swords in a six pointed star formation.  
Nakatsu mearly dissapeered. When he reappeared he was standing in the doorway of the house, a sword in his hand. "If that's the way you want it," He said, "A swords fight would suit me just fine"  
Zolo smirked.  
"You honestly think you can beat me?" He asked, but from Hana's expression he guessed that it was more than likely that he would. Nakatsu answered the question by running in with unbelievable speed, the pupils of his icy blue eyes becoming slits, flecks of red beginning to overpower the blue. "What the...?" Zolo muttered as he moved quickly to block the attack. 'It's all over now,' Hana thought. The flecks became a solid color, and the attacks became constant and more fierce. Hana could see the flames beginning to come from his sword hand. The sword became engulfed in the flames, making it twice as deadly, without damaging the blade. Zolo's swords were knocked away and he was knocked to the ground. The sword found it's way to his throat.  
Hana pulled a dagger out of her sash and threw it between them to get Nakatsu's attention. He looked over at her.  
"Don't touch him," She said slowly, her voice laced with venom. "Or what!" He asked, his red eyes blazed. Hana put a sword up to her own throat. "What's the point of fighting if you get no prize?" She asked. Nakatsu came towards her, the tip of his sword dragging along the ground. He lifted her chin so that she looked him squarely in the eye.  
"Killing him would be a great constellation prize, my love." He punched her in the stomach. She began to cough, the blood coming up with it. The flame disappeared from his sword and his hand. His eyes returned to their normal blue, but they didn't seem cold anymore. "Hana?" He asked, even his voice sounded softer now. "Crud...! What did he do?" Zolo stood up and took a step towards him. Nakatsu threw his sword down at Zolo's feet. "This fight's over! Get some medicine dang it!" The crew looked confused,  
Chopper came over to take a look at what was going on.  
"You idiot!" He yelled slapping Nakatsu across the face, leaving a hoof mark.  
"She's got Marikima! She must've had it for years! I've never seen it this bad!" "What do I do?" Nakatsu asked, his voice was frantic.  
"We need to treat her!" He waved back at the road, "We can take her back to the ship! That's where my supplies are! I don't carry around stuff like that!" Nakatsu slung her over his shoulder and began to run, Zolo right beside him. They arrived at the Merry Go in record time. "Lay her down in one of the hammocks!" Chopper ordered and began to search through his chemicals. He finally found what he was looking for. He poured some purple and some yellow liquids into a beaker. It fizzed and then settled into a concoction that barely bubbled every now and then. He poured it down her throat. "I need some way to keep her mouth shut!" He yelled. Zolo immediately offered his bandanna.  
Chopper tied it so that it caught the medicine she coughed back up. He sighed. "Now we need to wait," he said, "All of you go out onto the deck, she needs to rest!" He ushered them all out of the room. Zolo glared over at Nakatsu.  
"You moron! How could you let her get like that!" He yelled. Nakatsu looked up from where he sat leaning against the mast.  
"Believe me, if I had had any control I would've stopped it all!" He snapped. Zolo looked like he might say something else, but Luffy silenced him.  
"What do you mean?" He asked. Nakatsu sighed.  
"You see," He said, "I have a split personality, I can't help any of it, when I snap, I'm someone else intirly." He sighed and leaned back, closing his eyes. "I don't think I've had full control in, hmm, four years..." Sanji's sucker fell out of his mouth, breaking on the wood of the deck.  
"That's nuts crap-kid!" He yelled. He pulled another lollipop out of his pocket as he settled down. "What was up with those flames earlier?" Usopp asked. Nakatsu raised a hand and a few flames licked his fingertips. "What, these?" He asked, "I ate the fire-fire friut, I have the ability to make and control fire. Wherever there is oxygen, I can make flames. He closed his hand into a fist and the flames were smothered. They heard a crash come from the room Breanna was in.  
"Stop it! You need to rest!" They heard Chopper yell. This was followed by a bunch of angry shouts that they couldn't quite, nor did hey want to, understand. "What do you mean! You can't eat me!" They opened up the door to see Breanna with Chopper's foot in her mouth.  
Chopper was whining. "Help me!" He yelled and Luffy and Zolo pulled Hana off and put her back in the hammock. "Dag blammit! Why didn't ya wake me up!" She roared, "I HATE medicine"  
Nakatsu smiled at her. She blinked. Once, and then twice and then she hugged him.  
"NAKATSU! I..." She looked him in the eye wistfully, then changed to a look of outrage, "I HATE YOU!" she smacked him. "How could you let them give me medicine?" Nakatsu laughed.  
"Good to see you too," He said. Hana felt like she might cry so she hit him again. He'd had her worried. They both laughed and then settled there. Zolo walked out onto the deck. Within a few hours, Hana was able to walk around normally, but she wasn't allowed to run or do anything really active just yet. She wasted no time disappearing so that none of them even knew where to start looking. Zolo sighed as he went to check the beach. Nakatsu was checking the house and the immediate area of it and all the others had spread through the town, with the exception of Chopper who was waiting on the ship just in case she came back. 'What am I going to do?' Zolo thought.  
'She obviously likes Nakatsu. I have no chance!' He pounded his fist into the cliff wall.  
"Dang it!" He breathed. He heard some one laugh.  
"Wow, anger managment much?" Hana said. Zolo sighed.  
"Everyone is looking for you," He said, Hana's face turned serious.  
"I know," She said, "I wanted to get you alone, you seem depressed or something." He looked sceptic.  
"How did you know I would look on the beach, maybe I would go into town and Luffy would look on the beach, or Nakatsu." He didn't meet her eyes as he said the last words.  
"What is it with you and Nakatsu?" she asked, "He's completly changed now, yet you still treat him like an enemy." Zolo looked into her eyes reluctantly.  
"Beacause, for me, he still is," He said. She looked confused. "He.. likes you.  
alot." He answered her gaze.  
"He'd better!" Hana shouted. Zolo sighed again.  
"I knew it..." He said, then thought, 'she likes him to'  
"He is my brother after all!" She said.  
"WHAT!" He shouted so loud that it shook the entire world. (Yep, loud huh?) "B-b-but your last names are different... How...?" Breanna laughed.  
"You should see you're face!" She giggled.  
"Oh, you were joking?" Zolo asked. She sat there with the smile frozen on her face.  
"No, no I wasn't." She said evenly. Zolo lost a life and she laughed again. "What I mean is, We've been together since we were two years old. I've always thought of him as my brother, he thinks of me like his sister"  
"B-b-b-but, the other Nakatsu said that he loved you!" Zolo said confused. Hana's face was carefree.  
"He doesn't think of me like his sister, more like his pet kitten." She said, "I don't like him much, but I put up with it waiting for my Nakatsu to come back." Zolo sighed in releif. "Why do you care"  
"I care because," He averted his eyes, "I like you alot... too." She smiled and hugged him.  
"I think..." She started, "I think that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." "How cute," Sanji said watching the two.  
"Can't split them up now," Nakatsu said. Luffy smiled. Breanna pulled herself away from Zolo to look at the others. "Breanna," Luffy said, "You're jioning my pirate crew!" It was a statment, not a question, but Hana nodded anyway.  
"Yes sir, cap'n!" She said happily, then looked it Nakatsu. "I'll miss you big brother"  
"Why?" He asked.  
"Well, who knows when I'll be back to this village again, if I ever come back at all?" She pouted, "How can you be so rude"  
"You think I'd let you go off with these weirdos?" He said, his eyes hard, "With out me!" He smiled again, his eyes soft, "Heck no! I'm comin' along, but no more of this 'big brother' crap. Just Nakatsu, like the olden days"  
"Back then it was captain Nakatsu!" She laughed, Nakatsu laughed to.  
"I don't think I could handle this crew!" He smirked.  
"THIS KID HAD HIS OWN CREW!" Usopp yelled. Nakatsu looked slightly irritated.  
"Yer piont?" He asked, "I was fourteen, I had already been a pirate for a year. And who are you callin' 'kid'? I'm older than you." "You're all nuts," Usopp said and walked away in a daze. The others stared after him for a moment.  
"Anyway," Luffy said, "It would be great to have both of you come along"  
"Besides," Chopper said, "Hana still has four more treatments before her illness will be completly cured"  
"I HATE MEDICINE!" Hana yelled and began chasing Chopper again.  
"I feel sorry for that reindeer," Nakatsu shook his head, "He's going to have his hands, er, hooves full." Nakatsu dissapeared, reapearing right behind Breanna grabbing her arms, letting Chopper get away. "No running around Hana, doctor's orders." Zolo shook his head, 'I'm the one I feel sorry for, this girl is nutts.' Hana came over and hopped on his back.

-------------------

Yay! Thanks for reading! 


	3. Chapter 3

"Zolo-chaaaaan," Hana whined, "I'm bored! Not being able to run sucks!" Zolo sighed, then smiled back at her. Her eyes drooped. "I'm tired... already..." The grin still on his face he began to carry her back onto the ship. She was already asleep when he layed her down in his cot. The rest of the crew prepared the ship and they left the port.  
"We're gonna have get another hammock for Nakatsu, and something for Hana," he said trying to think of what would fit in the women's quarters. "Come to think of it, I've never seen Nami's room." He sighed he would have to ask her what would fit. He pulled Luffy's hammock over so that he could lay down while he watched over Hana. Eventually, though, he fell asleep. Sanji and Luffy walked in sometime later.  
"Sword boy seems to be enjoying the company," Sanji said, quiet enough that he wouldn't wake them up. Luffy didn't say anything for a moment.  
"HEY, ZOLO'S SLEEPING IN MY HAMMOCK!" he finally yelled. Sanji put a hand over his mouth. Hana stirred a bit, but she didn't wake up. Sanji sighed in releif. "A hurricane couldn't wake those two," He smiled. Hana rolled over into the cot with Zolo in it. Luffy and Sanji struggled not to laugh until they were out on the deck. Once they were they burst out laughing.  
"I want to be around when he wakes up," Luffy laughed, a tear in his eye. Sanji was laughing too hard to speak. Nakatsu and Chopper walked up.  
"What's going on?" Chopper asked. Luffy and Sanji were still laughing so they just pionted to the door. Soon they were all rolling on the deck, laughing their hearts out. Soon after they showed Nami and Usopp. Usopp laughed louder than all of them.  
"What's all the ruckus about?" Zolo asked as he woke up. He noticed Hana and freaked out, turning bright red. Sanji luaghed from the doorway. Zolo tryed to move with out waking her up, but she grabbed his wrist. He looked down to see a still sleeping Hana.  
"Don't go..." She said in her sleep. He had to smile at how innocent she looked, "Don't go... sushi... I'm hungry..." Zolo's face turned to pure terror as she began trying to eat his hand. "Hana! Wake up! It's Zolo!" He yelled, trying to get out of her grasp, "I'm not sushi I swear!" The others laughed even more as Hana continued up his arm. Nakatsu walked over, still laughing and chopped Hana in the back of the neck. She blinked and fell down onto the floor, not moving. Nakatsu lifted her up, putting her sleeping form back into a hammock as Chopper looked over Zolo's arm. It was red and covered in bite marks. In one place it had even broken the skin. "You'll be fine," He told him, wrapping a bandage around it. Nakatsu turned around just after the bandage covered the open sore.  
"I'm sorry about that," He said, "I would have stopped her sooner but it was too funny!" Zolo looked sick.  
"Thaaaaanks," He said sarcasticly. "I'm going up to the crow's nest," he said and left. The others let him go.  
"Mmm?" Hana muttered as she sat up, "Did I miss something?" She closed her mouth, something tasted weird. She tryed not to think about it. The others continued talking.  
"It was pretty funny though," Luffy said. "Pretty funny? You luaghed harder than me!" Sanji yelled. The two glared at each other for a moment, then broke out luaghing again. Hana's eyes got wide. She recognized that taste. Blood.  
"What happened!" She yelled and this time the others looked over at her, her mouth clenched, her face startled.  
"You rolled over into the same cot as Zolo, he woke up and freaked out and then you tried to eat him. You kept talking about sushi," Nami explained, "It was pretty funny." Hana's face tightened.  
"Why didn't you stop me!" She yelled over at Nakatsu, he shrugged.  
"I did, but I let you go for awhile," He answered, "Why does it matter so much?" A sick look passed over her face.  
"I broke the skin, there is blood in my mouth," She said softly, and Nakatsu's face went as pale as hers.  
"What?" Sanji asked. Hana sped out of the room, but Nakatsu turned to answer him.  
"Hana is... Different... from others who ate devil fruit..." He muttered and sighed heavily, sadly.  
"Whaddaya mean?" Luffy asked, scratching his head.  
"Well, because she ate the Creature-creature fruit, call it a side effect if you must," He started, "She can use the abilities of other creatures, including ones more... Human, like fishmen or, unfortunatly, vampires. If she bites some one and they do not get an antidote the consciences are grave"  
"What are they...?" Usopp shivered, not sure he wanted to know.  
"There's no time for that," Sanji interupted, "Lets go see if we can help at all." The walked up to see Zolo standing in the crow's nest and Hana standing on a rope connected to it.  
"Zolo, you need to take an antidote," Nami yelled over the rising wind. It was getting worse by the second, but Hana and Zolo seemed uneffected.  
"Why should I?" He asked, but the vioce was not his own. "I feel great." Hana judged the distance between them, there wasn't much time left.  
"Zolo, you need to take that antidote right now," Nakatsu yelled then looked up at Hana. 'She doesn't have time to walk across that rope, and if she jumps to him she'll be blown overboard, the winds are too strong!' He thought rapidly to himself. She smiled at him and mouthed the words, 'It'll be okay', she knew he wouldn't hear them if she yelled. Nakatsu nodded and threw a little bottle up to her. She caught it and took off the cork as she jumped toward Zolo. She poured the purple liquid down his throat before the wind blew her over board.  
"No!" Chopper yelled, "She's still hasn't recuperated enough to use her power! She can't fly back to safty!" Zolo put a hand up to his head as the antidote took effect. When he was back to normal he saw Hana falling into the dark sea below. "Hana!" He yelled, his vioce was devoured by the howls of the wind. He jumped off of the boat, helping her to stay above the harsh waters. Luffy stretched his arm down to them, the rest of them making sure he didn't fall in himself. Zolo grabbed his hand and the two were hauled up. Hana asleep once more. They all sighed in releif and Zolo carried Hana back to his cot, then put a blankit over her wet body. He leaned against a wall. "That," he started, "Was the wierdest feeling I have ever had in my whole life." Nakatsu sighed. "Hey," Nami interupted, "You never did tell us what the side efftect was." Nakatsu looked up at the crew, then over at Hana. She was still asleep so he answered the question.  
"It gives you a split personality," He muttered quietly, "A really bad one, it makes you sort out all of your bad pionts and make them into another person. Pretty much." He looked down at the ground.  
"So that's what happened to you huh?" Zolo asked from behind him. The others gasped softly. Nakatsu turned around and smiled warily.  
"Yeah, but it's a secret okay?" he told them," Hana knows that it does something to the people she bites, but she doesn't know what. I would like to keep it that way." Zolo sighed.  
"She'll find out one day," He cursed, "but for now, I agree that that is best." The others muttered their agreement.  
"Chopper, how long until she can move around normally without getting so tired?" Luffy asked. Chopper sighed.  
"I'm surprised that she moves around that well already," He answered, "She must be really hyper the rest of the time"  
"You have no idea," Zolo and Nakatsu both muttered.  
"Anyway, she'll be fine in about four more days. She'll have one treatment each day, and by the fifth she'll be fit as a fiddle," Chopper explained.  
"Fiddles are too fast. I don't like fast," Hana said, sitting up. Zolo sighed, 'she runs fast, recovers fast, thinks too fast, or maybe she just doesn't think at all? Anyway, she's the definition of fast!' Hana fell back into the pillow, "Fast ain't always good"  
"We still need to get something for Nakatsu and Hana to sleep on," Sanji said.  
"There's a port nearby, we can be there by tommorow morning," Nami replyed looking at another map. "Hayden"  
"Then we'll do it!" Luffy yelled and the crew went off to do their own thing while they waited.  
"Land ho!" Hana yelled from the crows nest. "I've always wanted to say that"  
"Hana get down from there!" Zolo yelled.  
"Okay!" she jumped down into Zolo's arms. She smiled, but he sighed.  
"What am I going to do with you? Chopper wants you to come get your treatment," He sighed again as he tipped her onto her feet. she looked up at him with evil eyes.  
"I... Hate... MEDICINE!" She whined. Zolo smiled as she walked into the room Chopper was waiting in. Hana slept through the rest of that morning's trip. Soon the port city of Hayden apeared over the ocean's waters.  
"Hey, Chopper, can she come into town with us?" Luffy asked. Chopper nodded.  
"Sure can, if you can wake her up that is," He answered. They all circled around Zolo's cot, where Hana was sleeping and tryed to wake her up. Zolo sighed when it came to his turn and said one word.  
"Sushi?" Hana shot up in bed, "I like sushi! Hi Zolo, lets go get some sushi! You're buyin'? Sounds good! Lets go!" Hana jumped out of the cot and ran to the side of the ship, jumping off.  
"Hana, that's the wrong side..." They all muttered, but it was too late. Nakatsu shrugged.  
"Let her walk up," he smiled a bit. Hana walked up to the shore, spitting out some seawater. The others laughed from above, but she gave them an icy glare that froze them to the spot. The silence ended when she broke eye contact to spit out a fish and they all began laughing again. Eventually she jioned in as they all jumped off the ship.  
"Now..." She said slowly, "I seem to remember that you owe me sushi Zolo." He sighed as she dragged him along. "Well meet you back here in an hour"  
"Okay!" Luffy yelled and laughed as she pulled Zolo off and into a restraunt. He turned to the rest, "We need to find some cots." The others nodded and they headed into town. They looked into several stores with no luck, but as they walked down the street something caught Sanji's eye. A girl with long brown hair tacked up a poster nearby.  
"I'll catch up wit chu guys in a minute," He told them, "I gots some business to attend to." "Okay, bye Sanji!" Chopper said then raced to catch up with the rest of the crew. Sanji walked up and put a hand on the wall near the girl. She saw it and turned to him.  
"Hiya," She said, waving her hand. Sanji kept cool. "Want to go to a cook off?" She asked, Sanji looked suprised. She handed him a flyer, "We're having a cook off this evening, there's still time to enter if you're intrested." He looked at the flyer, then back at the girl.  
"Will you be there?" He asked suavly. She smiled.  
"Ofcoarse," She grinned, it turned into a smirk, "I'm a contestant." She tacked another poster up and then turned to him, "I'm sorry, but I have to be going. See you there?" Sanji smiled.  
"You can be sure of it," he told her. She gave him a final smile and left.  
"Sanji! This guy is gonna sell us some hammocks!" Usopp yelled over to him. Sanji walked over the group. "It's a great deal," Usopp continued, "Buy two, get one free"  
"Ussop, we only need two," Nami argued.  
"Never hurts to have an extra," Luffy cut in and that was the end of it as they bought the cots.  
"Sushi! Sushi! I love sushi!" Hana sang happily. Zolo sighed as she gobbled through her tenth plate. 'She'd give even Luffy a run for his money in an eating contest,' he thought to himself as he drank some sake. "Zolo, you shouldn't drink!" she told have waving a finger. He knew she was joking.  
"Why not? I don't get drunk," He told her and knocked a bottle back to prove his piont. She shook the finger faster.  
"I told you drinking was bad!" She said and slapped him. "You just never learn! You're too complicated, like life, and like pie!" Zolo laughed nervously. She gave him a serious look, "You laugh like it's a joke, but I'm serious." The nervous laughter died away and they began to eat again. Finally, Zolo called for the check. He took one look and froze. He sighed and pulled out his wallet. She put an arm in front of him. "I got this one," She told him. He started to protest, but she cut him off, "It'll be my apology for biting you." Hana dumped some gold cions into the waiters hand and they left.  
Everyone met back in front of the ship. Sanji pulled Luffy aside. He spoke quietly, "Luffy, I want the night off to participate in a cook off." He told him. Luffy looked confused.  
"That's fine, but I thought you didn't like compititions?" Luffy asked. Sanji's eyes momentarily turned into hearts, then turned back to normal.  
"Something has sparked my intrest..." He said and Luffy smiled.  
"Then tonight, you are on leave," He said and Sanji thanked him before heading off.  
"What was that all about?" Chopper asked. Luffy shrugged.  
"Sanji has the night off to participate in a cook off, why?" He informed them and they all hit him.  
"You idiot! Now what do WE eat!" They all said at once.  
"Oops!" Luffy said and scratched his head. Hana sighed.  
"Come on, Nami, we're the only ones that have a chance at cooking right..." She said in a bored tone, then lightened up. "If we hurry we can watch Sanji"  
"Remember: one of the people cooking is Hana so only half of it is edible," Nakatsu warned them. Hana whaked him over the head.  
"I heard that!" She snapped.  
"It's not my fault you can only cook desserts!" Nakatsu said, rubbing his head. "You're so violent"  
"I second that," Zolo and Chopper said at the same time, both thinking of the several times she had hit them.  
"I'm not violent!" She flared and slapped them all. By the time they were done arguing, Nami had already made the meal on her own. They ate quickly and headed for the center of town, following signs to get to the cook off. 


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, first of all, I'm sorry it's so short. I had some trouble writing this chapter, so it isn't as good as I envisioned it and I've been having computer porblems lately. Anyway, please enjoy this newest installment in my odd little tale!

I do not own One Piece! Tear!

* * *

They walked into a stadium of cheering people. Hana looked around with a look of awe. The lights were blinding as they swirled the stadium and settled on the contestants. An announcers vioce blared through the stadium, "And now, we give you the contestants of Hayden's annual cook-off!" The crowd of people grew louder and the Straw Hat Crew found some seats, "I give you, Peanut Patric! Hammy Halie! Steak Steve! (Sorry, I had a name shortage and I've lost my mind...) And a new contestant, Sanji...!" The announcer put his hand over the microphone so his vioce was muffled, "What is that kid's full name anyway?" He uncovered the mic, "And, lets not forget, our returning champian, Sharr!" The crowd roared. The girl Sanji had been talking to earlier smiled and waved, a few whistles were heard from the audience. "The dish is... Salmon Flay!" A few contestants sigh in releif while others moan slightly. Sanji smiled as he set to work on the dish. The judges got up from their table and wandered around. If they saw someone make a vital mistake they would tap them on the shoulder and the disappointed contestants would move off of the stage. Only Sanji and Sharr remained long enough to actually take their finished salmon fillet to the judges table. Both looked mouth watering and Hana was leaning towards them when Zolo pushed her backwards and made her promise to be good. Sanji sent them a small scowl and then turned back to the judges as they all tried some of both dishes. The room went silent as the head judge moved to the microphone. He cleared his throat before beginning.

"It would appear that these dishes are of equal calibur and taste," he cleard his troat again, "We'll have to move onto a tiebreaker!" The crowd erupted into cheers and then went silent as he pulled a notecard out of his pocket, "And the tiebreaking dish is...!" He looked a bit perturbed, then said, "Sushi!" The crowd creared again and Sanji and Julia moved back onto the stage to make the new dish. This went faster because it was simpler for them to do, but it didn't make the atmosphere any less intense. Hana was leaning so far towards the sushi that Zolo had to hold the collar of her shirt to keep her from falling on her face. Sanji and Julia presented their results to the judges at the same time, but the judges never got to try it because Hana, wearing an undershirt now, dashed through and grabbed them all. Zolo sighed, he was still holding her overshirt, which she had slipped out of to get to the sushi and moved to go after her, but Nakatsu put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

"Don't even try it, you'll just make it worse," He said, "She'll think it's some sort of game if you join in." (What is she, a dog?) Zolo folded his arms as he watched Hana slide the sushi down her throat. The judges tried to make it look planned and turned to Hana.

"So, uh, which was best?" The head judge asked through the microphone. Hana thought for a moment, then smiled.

"Uh... the not raw kind," She said and then Sanji and Julia looked at each other.

"Did you make Sashimi?" Sanji asked and Julia shook her head, "Me neither..." he said and the judges tried to look perfessional again.

"Uh... It's official folks! Even after the tiebreaker! It's a tie! Sanji and Julia have tied as Hayden's number one cook!" The judge looked confused about who to give the medal to, but Sanji waved his hand.

"Give it to the lady," He said, "I don't need it, I'm just a sea cook."

"Thank you," Julia said graciously as the medal was placed around her neck. Sanji smiled.

"Anything for a lovely lady," He told her modestly and the judge told everyone to head on home as Zolo hopped onto the stage and picked up Breanna, who was now sleeping contentedly of the ground.  
"I'm sorry about this Sanji, she slipped," he said and Sanji shook his head.

"It doesn't matter, I didn't come here to win," He said and Luffy looked confused,  
"I don't cook for competition, I cook for love." his eyes begame hearts and Julia laughed.

"I'm carmed," she said, "however, I would've rathered a winner came out of this."

"I'm sorry, I should have worded that differently," Sanji said suavely, "I didn't come here to try and win a medal, the only prize my eyes are set on is you heart."

"As I said, I'm flattered, but I have..." She stopped as she looked into his eyes, unable to say anymore.

"Did you ever consider becoming a pirate?" He asked, and the jaws of the Straw Hat Crew dropped (Excluding Hana, who is still sleeping.) Sharr blushed and took the hand Sanji had stretched out for her.

"Every girl of this day dreams of following love out to sea," she said and the jaws dropped even farhter as they thought 'She's worse then him!' (Nyah?) Sanji smiled and turned to Luffy, who laughed.

"Why not?" He chuckled and Sanji's smile grew as he began to lead their new member to the ship. It was a good thing they'd gotten that extra hammock.


End file.
